Some Americans believe that a properly made hot dog should never be topped with ketchup. Often these people believe the flavor of ketchup overpowers and destroys the taste of the hot dog instead of complimenting it.
Nowhere is this difference in opinion more apparent than in Chicago. Restaurants and stands that consider themselves to be "true" Chicago hot dog grills do not, as a rule, carry ketchup in stock, even if they serve other food items that use this condiment, such as french fries.[citation needed] The National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, in its recommendations for proper Hot Dog Etiquette capitulate only slightly to the public's general regard for ketchup, saying "Don't use ketchup on your hot dog after the age of 18."
The attitude against the use of ketchup was summarized by Mike Royko in one of his columns:
No, I won't condemn anyone for putting ketchup on a hot dog. This is the land of the free. And if someone wants to put ketchup on a hot dog and actually eat the awful thing, that is their right. It is also their right to put mayo or chocolate syrup or toenail clippings or cat hair on a hot dog. Sure, it would be disgusting and perverted, and they would be shaming themselves and their loved ones. But under our system of government, it is their right to be barbarians.
In the film Sudden Impact, San Francisco detective Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) looses a tirade while conversing with a cop who's munching a ketchup-topped dog at a murder scene:
Nah, this stuff isn't getting to me — the shootings, the knifings, the beatings... old ladies being bashed in the head for their social security checks[.] [...] Nah, that doesn't bother me. But you know what does bother me? You know what makes me really sick to my stomach? It's watching you stuff your face with those hot dogs. Nobody... I mean nobody puts ketchup on a hot dog.
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